Identifying and Eliminating Illicit Connections in the Clear Creek Watershed

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Abstract

With a total length of 58 miles, Clear Creek is divided into two designated segments for the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission's surface water quality monitoring program. The tidal Segment 1101 begins at the confluence with Clear Lake in Galveston/Harris County and ends at a point 100 meters upstream of FM 528 in Galveston/Harris County. The non-tidal Segment 1102 begins 100 meters upstream of FM 528 in Galveston/Harris County and ends at Rouen Road in Fort Bend County. Both segments have been designated contact recreation waters in the State of Texas Water Inventory (305(b) Report). Both segments are nonsupportive of the contact recreations use because domestic point sources and urban runoff contribute to elevated bacteria levels. Conversely, both segments are on the 303(d) list of impaired waters in regards to bacterial levels sometime exceeding the criterion established to assure the safety of contact recreation. Likewise, according to the monthly fecal coliform data collected by the Galveston County Health District (GCHD) Pollution Control Division, both segments have repeatedly failed to meet the surface water quality standard (SWQS) for contact recreation. GCHD's data indicates that Clear Creek fecal coliform levels are historically high during both wet and dry weather periods. Therefore, the overall goals of the Clean Rivers Illicit Connections Program is to reduce the fecal coliform bacteria concentrations in both the tidal and non-tidal segments of Clear Creek, and collect baseline monitoring data for portions of Clear Creek outside of Galveston County.